Global networks are common to all of today's communication systems, wherein various electronic, optical, and wireless devices can be interconnected by a series of individual local networks to facilitate the transmission of data traffic. This traffic can include voice, video, data, and other information over a variety of transmission mediums, such as wireless, copper, and fibre optic lines. Hub network configurations are being used in network components such as optical cross connects, IP hubs and large routers, and in terabit and gigabit routers. Today's optical cross-connect network elements (such as the Nortel Networks DX or HDX) can support numerous topologies, including network segments such as rings, stars, chains, bus, and associated nodes and links. For example, the DX allows connections of up to 40 rings attached to a single optical node. As new technology is developed the complexity of network configurations is expected to increase, where the complexity of the hub network configuration can be a function of the number of attached segments and the number of network elements per attached segment.
The usefulness of hub network management applications can depend on an adequate representation of the increasing number of connections to support management tasks, such as configuration, route and path analysis, line or node failure detection, and other associated problem solving activities. Another issue in networks is hub network layout, which is an intensive and extensive process wherein each network item is carefully mapped to facilitate differentiable and selectable item representations. Therefore, it is important for Network Managers to be able to differentiate the various attached network segments and to select them in a systematic fashion to efficiently explore a representation of the hub network. Current versions of hub network management applications or tools are Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) based on single or multiple views of the associated segments and nodes, which are connected to the central hub of a selected network. Unfortunately, these applications are not adapted to facilitate the Network Managers or other users to efficiently layout, represent, or manage the dense hub network configurations.
The single view technique allows the total number of attached network segments to be simultaneously represented on a single display to the Network Manager, such as the GUI on a video screen or computer monitor. However, experience has shown that this single view is only practical in maintaining the hub network with a limited number of segments and associated nodes, such as two to four rings depending upon the complexity of each attached ring. The network configurations can also be composed of various typology types such as linear chains, stars, and bus. The single view display can be difficult to interpret by the Network Manager as more connections are represented in the network, since representations of dense complex hub network configurations can create a mesh of lines crossing in all directions. This can cause problems in distinguishing between specific adjacent attached network segments, in identifying the common node, and in selecting specific network items contained in the display. Consequently, the topology and connection logic may get lost in a graphical chaos, which can increase the amount of time the Network Manager must spend in analyzing the network. Furthermore, the nodes and associated link alarms can be overlaid or hidden from view, which can make the visual clutter more acute. As well, any associated text lists used to supervise the network can become too long to be displayed in a comprehensive manner on the GUI.
Multiple view network management software was developed to address the problems inherent with the single view technique and thereby to provide a more user-friendly network management tool. This multiple view technique represents hub network configurations through multiple associated views. These view can be displayed simultaneously in distinct windows, where the content of a single window can be refreshed to represent the views on a one by one basis. A first view of the technique presents a start network segment with a special off-page connector attached to the common node for each attached segment to the central hub. The off-page connectors indicate to the Network Manager how each segment connects to other segments in separate windows of the display. From each off-page connector, the Network Manager can call a separate view where the connected attached segment will be displayed. The Network Manager can then view descriptive elements of each of the attached segments on the separate views, in order to manage the hub network configuration.
A problem with the multiple view technique is that it can become difficult to use as the network reaches a count of more than four attached segments, for example, since it can be difficult to represent more than four off-page connectors attached to the central hub on a single display. The network manager views the various hub network segments by calling the presentation in distinct views using the off-page connectors. The views can be presented in the same window or in distinct windows. Each view presents a target hub segment and the off-page connectors leading to other hub sections, all attached to the central hub node. Using this technique, the network manager can experience difficulties in maintaining continuity between each of the off-page connectors and the associated hub members, as they become more numerous, since the Network Manger depends on memory to maintain the interrelationships between the various views. Furthermore, in each view, the central hub and the attached off-page connectors can be displayed in various positions and orientations. This may cause extra difficulty and confusion for the Network Manager in examining data for the attached hub segments. Moreover, as the number of hub segments increases, the number of associated off-page connectors can become such that the representation causes visual concentration and overlapping, thereby making the representation difficult to distinguish and to select specific segments therefrom.
When exploring the representation of the hub network configurations, it is desirable to differentiate the various attached segments and select them in a systematic way to consider them in isolation or to compare them selectively. Both of the above discussed techniques (single view and multiple view) can represent hub network configurations. However, when the number of attached segments increases (typically past four segments) the representation of the network quickly gets cluttered and visual elements tend to concentrate around the central node and to overlap, making it difficult for the Network Manager to understand the representations and to select individual components. Consequently, problems in selecting and displaying specific network segments by the above discussed techniques can reduce Network Manager efficiency in network layout and management.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for representing centralized network configurations in order to obviate or mitigate some of the above-mentioned disadvantages.